The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body of the sport of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference on 15 June 1909 by the representatives of the Australian Cricket Board, England and Wales Cricket Board, and South African Cricket Association at Lord's. In 1965, the body was renamed as International Cricket Conference and its current name was adopted in 1987. The ICC has its headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The membership of the council had steadily increased from the founding three members, to over a hundred members by the 21st century. The ICC has 110 member nations, 12 of whom are designated as full members and are eligible to play Test cricket, while the remaining 98 are classified as associate members.

The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of international cricket tournaments, most notably the Men's and Women's ODI World Cups, Men's and Women's T20 World Cups, World Test Championship, and Men's and Women's Champions Trophy. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all Test matches, ODIs and T20Is. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket. It also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries (except the World Test Championship final), and domestic cricket within its member countries. It does not make or alter the laws of the game, which have remained under the governance of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) since 1788.

The President served as the head of ICC since its inception, with the president of MCC usually serving as the president of ICC till 1989. In July 1989, the practice of the MCC president automatically serving as the president of the ICC was abolished, and Colin Cowdrey became the first independent president of the ICC. In 1993, the position of chief executive was created, and David Richards was the first to be appointed to the position. The position of the Chairman was created in 2014, and N. Srinivasan was announced as the first chairman of the council. The role of ICC president became a largely honorary position after the establishment of the chairman role, and was altogether abolished in April 2016. Shashank Manohar, who replaced Srinivasan in October 2015, became the first independent elected chairman of the ICC.